


Domestic Chaos

by RedDragon30000



Category: Agatha Christie's Poirot (TV)
Genre: Gen, Spanking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:00:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27757300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedDragon30000/pseuds/RedDragon30000
Summary: After Poirot goes on a case for two weeks, Julie misses her guardian terribly. Angry at being separated for so long, Julie decides to misbehave as much as possible so that Poirot will be forced to come home. However, she is soon to realise that George can also deal with her behaviour, as long as he is granted the appropriate authority..
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	Domestic Chaos

**Author's Note:**

> This story came about because I wanted to explore the relationship between Julie and George a bit more, and I also though it would be fun to see George having to reign in a very energetic little girl and all the chaos she could cause.

It had been almost a year since Monsieur Poirot had become Julie’s guardian, and she was nearly completely settled into his household. She did not mind that her guardian left her for short random periods, as she found his cases fascinating, and he would always share with her what he was working on. Julie had no reservations at being left alone with George, as he treated her with the same kindness as Poirot did, even though he was slightly more remote. However, both Julie and George found themselves tested when Poirot was required to work on a case for two weeks, away from his apartment. For the first few days Julie did not consider Poirot’s absence to be a problem, as she was used to not seeing him for a few days in a row. However, by the end of the first week, she had begun to miss him terribly. Even though George always paid attention to her and was awkwardly affectionate when she needed some comfort, it just wasn’t the same.

For the most part, Julie was naturally well behaved. This was partly the result of her previous experiences, and also because she loved both Poirot and George, and didn’t want to upset them by causing them problems. However, Poirot’s absence was beginning to make her angry, and Julie decided that she would make Poirot regret having gone away. Later, Julie would lament having made such a decision, as she knew very well that Poirot would not stay away this long without good reason, and it was not fair to try to make him sorry for something he had no control over. 

Julie was well aware of a number of rules that Poirot had lain down, and usually was averse to breaking them. However, now that Poirot was not in the apartment, she decided that she would no longer obey all of these rules. Consequently, George found himself having to deal with a very badly behaved little girl. For the first week of his master’s absence, things had been almost as normal. True, Julie had been much more subdued and quieter than usual, but George was well aware of how much she was missing her guardian, so he was not alarmed at this change of mood. He did his best to comfort her when her misery over Monsieur Poirot’s absence caused her to cry. He hoped that the time would pass quickly until his master’s return, as he hated to see her this unhappy. He would presently be wishing the same thing for very different reasons.

At the beginning of the second week, George began to find himself having to assert his authority a lot more than usual, as Julie started to misbehave. To begin with, George dealt with things quite easily, as she only misbehaved in very small ways. Instead of completing her lessons she would draw pictures on her paper, or throw cushions from the armchairs and sofa across the living room. Her resolve to make Poirot sorry he was gone by misbehaving was almost quashed when George put his foot down, and she had to spend half an hour sitting on a chair, facing the living room wall. She absolutely _hated_ this punishment, as there was nothing else she could do but stare at the wall until George released her. However, she decided that she must make things worse, as this way Poirot would stay longer to keep an eye on her when he heard about how she was behaving.

As a result of this, George faced a nightly struggle when Julie refused to go to bed. Since he did not possess the same authority over her that his master did, he quickly began running out of options to make her go to bed. He would frequently end up having to wait until she fell asleep naturally, putting her in her bed when this had occurred, as she would stay away from her room as much as possible in the evening to avoid falling asleep there. Finally, three days before Monsieur Poirot was due to arrive home, Julie went too far, and George’s patience finally ran out.

George left the apartment for a short period, while he replied to a telegram that Poirot had sent, with the information that he had requested. He had only been gone for about twenty minutes, but when he returned to the apartment, he found that Julie was able to act very quickly when she wanted to. He went in search of her to inform her that he had returned from the post office, but it was only when he heard a noise from that location that he entered the study.

As soon as he had moved past one of the doors he stopped, freezing in shock. The study was in absolute chaos. While he had gone, Julie had systematically gone to each of the bookshelves behind Poirot’s desk and pulled all of the books and files off the shelves and onto the floor, resulting in a huge mess, and was smugly sitting in the middle of it all. For a few moments, all George could do was stare at the mess and contemplate how long it would take to put everything in order once again. Finally, he pulled himself together. Before Poirot had gone away, he had requested that he was not to be contacted unless he himself asked for things from his valet. Until now, George had not found it difficult to comply with this request, but now he felt he had no option but to inform his master about his ward’s bad behaviour. He wanted Monsieur Poirot’s advice, as he had no idea how he was going to keep things calm until his master returned, if _this_ was the way Julie would behave until then. 

Pinning Julie with a glare that made her squirm, George snapped:

“Miss Julie, I have had _enough_. Your behaviour this week has been deplorable, and I will no longer put up with it. I am informing Monsieur Poirot about how disobedient you have been.”

At this pronouncement, Julie sprang up from the floor and clutched desperately at George’s arm.

“Please George; don’t tell him what I’ve been doing! He’ll be so angry with me! I’m sorry George, I won’t do it again.”

She was almost panic stricken, as she had not anticipated that Poirot would be told about her behaviour this early and she hadn’t thought up a plan to deal with the consequences of this yet.

George smoothly removed her desperate grip on his arm and slowly shook his head, disregarding her pleas and apology.

“It is too late, Miss. Had you stopped this terrible conduct earlier, I might have been persuaded not to inform Monsieur Poirot. But I will no longer endure any more of this.”

Seizing her shoulder, he steered her into the living room and pushed her onto the sofa, ordering sternly, “Stay there until I retrieve you”. Letting her go, he entered the study once more and closed all the doors firmly, so that Julie would not hear what he would say. Slowly, he picked up the receiver of the telephone on Poirot’s desk and dialled the number that his master had provided him with.

Hercule Poirot was contemplating the information that George had sent him earlier that day. He was becoming very frustrated, as he knew there was a link between the new information and what he already knew about the case, but he had so far been unable to find it. When he was given the message that his valet wished to speak to him urgently on the telephone, his irritation soared. He knew that if he was given more time to think, he would discover this bond he had been seeking, but with this interruption, his ‘little grey cells’ would need to follow the same path of logic again when he was free to continue, and that would take a while.

Crossly, he snatched the receiver from where it was resting on the table in the hall and peevishly enquired:

“ _Oui_? What is it you need to tell me Georges?”

On the other end of the telephone, George winced slightly. His master already sounded annoyed, he had clearly been interrupted in the middle of something. George was _not_ looking forward to his reaction when he told him what his ward had been doing.

“I apologise for interrupting you Sir, but I fear that I had no other option. I am sorry to report that Miss Julie has been behaving atrociously since the beginning of this week, and I cannot imagine what caused it. Nor do I know how to get her to desist, as I do not have the authority over her that you do. What is your advice on the matter Monsieur?”

Poirot narrowed his eyes as his valet finished outlining his problem. He was not surprised that George was unable to think of the cause of Julie’s behaviour, as his valet possessed no imagination at all. He mentally berated himself for not putting a provision in place for any long absences, as his carelessness had come back to bite him. At least the problem could now be dealt with.

“Georges, at present I am not able to tell you the exact reason for Julie’s behaviour, as I would need to speak to her first. However, part of the reason things have become so bad, is because you do not at present possess the authority to deliver the more serious consequences for her actions, something that she is well aware of. However, Poirot is now giving you this authority. Let me speak to her for a little amount of time, and then I wish to finish this conversation with you before you end this call.”

George briefly replied “At once, Sir” before placing the receiver on the desk and giving Julie the message that her guardian wished to speak with her. Julie gulped as she heard this news, well aware that Poirot would be furious with her. Reluctantly she followed George into the study and picked up the receiver.

“Y-you wanted to s-speak to me, Oncle Hercule?”

Poirot fought off the wave of delight he always received from Julie addressing him as ‘Oncle’, reminding himself that she had been behaving very badly. With an effort he managed to make his voice sound angry and disapproving.

“I am _very_ disappointed in you Julie. When I went away, I trusted you to behave yourself without having me there. Instead I find that you have been tormenting poor Georges by being very disobedient and causing the poor man to have to call me to help him. What do you have to say for yourself you naughty girl?”

Julie fidgeted as Poirot reprimanded her, a combination of shame at her own behaviour and anger at Poirot’s absence warring within her. Finally the anger triumphed, and she snapped petulantly:

“It’s not fair! Why did you have to go away for so long when you knew I would miss you?”

Finally she wound down by muttering “At least being naughty meant I got to speak to you-“ Then swiftly cut herself off as she realised that she had inadvertently given away her whole motivation for acting so badly. It was evident that Poirot had heard, as she heard him fumble slightly with the telephone receiver as he nearly dropped it is shock. His tone darkened slightly when he spoke again to his ward, as she had unintentionally made him angrier with her.

“Since you were searching for my attention to be on you, you _certainly_ have it now! We will discuss this further when I return home, but I wish you to know that Georges now has the same authority that I do, so you will treat him with the same respect you give to Poirot. I imagine you can guess what else this means, and I will stand behind whatever punishment he decides to give you. I will always love you, _mon enfant_ , but right now I am very angry with you. I hope to see that your behaviour has improved by the time I get home. Now pass the telephone back to Georges.”

Reluctantly, Julie passed the receiver back to George, sadly returning back to the sofa, as George gestured towards the study door. George shut the door behind her, and then inquired:

“What have you decided, Sir?”

“I have decided that in order to stop Julie behaving this way, _you_ will be the one to punish her for the way she has acted. I have told her that she is to accept whatever punishment you deem appropriate, as you now possess the same authority that I do.”

As Poirot had done a few moments before, George almost dropped the telephone receiver in shock.

“ _Me,_ Sir? Are you certain?”

“ _Oui_ Georges. She will stop such bad behaviour as soon as she realises that she can still be held accountable for her actions, even though Poirot is not at home. It is also unfair for me to punish her when I get home, as it is not right that she be punished for something she did days ago.”

“I understand, Sir. I doubt I will need to disturb you further on this matter. Goodbye, Monsieur.”

“ _Au revoir_ , Georges.”

Slowly replacing the receiver, George contemplated the punishment that would be the most appropriate after what Julie had done. She would be assisting him in clearing up the mess she had made, he was certain of that, since she had created it in the first place. However, he also felt that her bad behaviour earlier in the week needed to be addressed, as he could not disregard it. Making up his mind, he slowly opened the door of the study, unsurprised that Julie was eyeing him with a great deal of apprehension. It was clear that Monsieur Poirot had informed her that George could now hold her accountable for what she had done.

Seating himself in an armchair opposite her, he murmured:

“I am very disappointed that the only way I could get you to behave was by informing Monsieur Poirot. I should not have had to resort to that. You are usually such a good girl; I disliked seeing you behaving so badly this week. I hope there is not a repeat of this next time Monsieur Poirot is absent.”

Julie squirmed, beginning to feel ashamed about causing George so much trouble. Her heart sank when George motioned for her to come over to him. She knew she deserved what was coming, after how she had behaved, but this particular punishment was never easy to bear. Slightly awkwardly, he arranged her across his knees, pulling up her skirt to uncover her knickers. Firmly pinning her in place, he brought a hand down sharply upon her backside, causing Julie to yelp. She squirmed slightly as George smacked her, beginning to sob from a combination of shame and the sting George was creating across her bottom. After a few minutes, George slowed the pace of the smacking and finally stopped. Moving her skirt to its proper position, he awkwardly enfolded the sobbing girl into a gentle embrace. He always hated punishing her, no matter what form the punishment took, but he knew she would not repeat this behaviour the next time Monsieur Poirot went away. Julie sobbed apologies into George’s jacket, wanting him to know how much she regretting causing him problems. George did not reply to this verbally, instead he merely cradled the back of her head with one hand. Julie sniffled slightly, understanding that George had accepted her apologies. He patiently waited for her to stop crying, somewhat amused when she, once again, was unable to find her handkerchief. He handed her his own, smirking slightly, and shifted her so that she was now sitting upright, instead of lying against him. Waiting until she had mopped her face, he gently raised her head until her damp eyes met his stern gaze.

“I know that you are sorry, Miss Julie. Can you promise me that you will behave yourself until Monsieur Poirot comes home?”

Slowly, Julie nodded. George smiled faintly, saying proudly: ”Good girl! I am very pleased with you.” Lifting her off his lap, he set her carefully on her feet, and beckoned her back into the study. She followed, stopping next to him just inside the doorway, once again contemplating the multitude of books and files on the floor. While she had been pulling them off the shelves, and sitting in the middle of the chaos she had caused just afterwards, she had felt smugly elated. However, now all she thought about was how much mess she had caused for George, as it would take a long while for all the books and files to be returned to their proper places, even with both of them completing this task. Her head drooped slightly as she fully realised the extra work she had dumped onto George, on top of his normal duties.

As if he had realised what was going through her mind, George squeezed her shoulder in reassurance. He did not consider this task to be a serious burden, as Julie would be replacing the books and files onto the shelves that she could reach. He was secretly impressed that she had managed to reach the books and files on the higher shelves, but knew that it was no use scolding her about climbing them. Poirot had scolded her numerous times about climbing far higher than she should, but had given up eventually, as it had no effect at all. She never fell when she climbed, and did so rarely, so Poirot did not consider the matter a serious concern.

Knowing that it would be best to make an immediate start on replacing the mess on the floor, George began to separate the jumble into books and files. Julie scurried to his side, eager to assist in making this easier for him. Smiling softly, George requested her to locate all of the files. By the time everything was in place once again, it was time for dinner. Even though Julie’s assistance in this task had been a punishment, she had almost enjoyed herself, glad that she could help in easing the burden she had suddenly dumped onto George. Dinner was a much more relaxed affair than it had been during the past few days, where Julie had been sulky and prone to deliberately dropping plates of food onto the floor. Tonight she did not do so, and the strain between the valet and his charge had now disappeared.

Julie’s switch back to her normal good behaviour was very gratifying for George, who hated things to be out of place in his master’s apartment and for the daily routine to be interrupted. The nightly struggle George had endured in getting Julie to bed had also disappeared, as she now got herself into bed at her usual bed-time. She had surprised George by somehow manipulating him into settling her properly into bed, a task which his master normally performed. However, as it seemed to assist her in sleeping much quicker than she did without this activity, he allowed himself to be manoeuvred.

Three days later, Poirot returned to his apartment, the case he had been working on now brought to a successful conclusion. He graced his faithful valet with a warm smile as George removed his coat and hat, and then grunted slightly as Julie cannoned into him happily. He returned her almost desperate hug with one of his own, and George slipped into the kitchen to give his master and his master’s ward some privacy. Julie was unsure if she had ever experienced a period as blissful as this one, safely in her guardian’s arms after a long absence. Poirot broke the contact eventually, slowly removing his grip from her small frame. His next action caught Julie entirely by surprise, as by his reaction, Poirot was clearly pleased to see her. 

Turning her away from him slightly, he suddenly gave her a hard swat. Julie yelped at this, shooting a reproachful glance at Poirot until he had provided her with an explanation.

“ _That_ was for causing Georges so much trouble. I know that you missed me, but it was not fair to cause him so many problems in an attempt to get in contact with me. Next time, tell George and he will contact me at once. Will you do this, _ma petite_?”

“Yes Oncle. I promise.”

Poirot smiled, uttering a quiet “ _Bon_.” Taking her hand, Poirot pulled Julie into the living room, dropping into his armchair and placing Julie on his lap. She snuggled against him happily, a blissful expression crossing her face. George entered a few moments later, carrying drinks for the two. He was unable to suppress the satisfied smile that came to his face as he observed how happy they both appeared. Now that his master had returned, Miss Julie was happy again, and order and method could reign in the apartment once more.


End file.
